Exploring Experimental Photography with Code

In a study conducted by Dr. Caputo of the University of Urbino, participants were asked to stare into a mirror in dim lighting for ten minutes. Results demonstrated that 66% of participants experienced huge deformations of their own face, 28% saw an unknown person, and 48% saw fantastical and monstrous beings.  In this multi-week workshop, we will be creating our own “software mirrors” using code—re-introducing ourselves to our own faces and taking charge of how we look online. Then we’ll take some mirror selfies!

Through editing their favorite photos with code, students will learn both key principles of computer science (variables, loops, arrays, control statements, etc.) as well as techniques and concepts specific to graphics programming. By gaining a deeper understanding of concepts such as digital colorspace, pixels, and resolution, we expand our potential for digital image-making to create photos that are exciting, breathtaking, strange, or even scary. After implementing our own techniques in code, we’ll take a tour of other popular tools and frameworks for programmatically altering camera data, such as shaders (GLSL), and Hydra.

This program is in partnership with PAVE Charter Academy located in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Community and School Programs at Pioneer Works are made possible, in part, by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).